What a day! Today, Aug. 26, we started in the city of Florence and after a jam-packed day, we ended exhausted in our beds in Rome. We started the morning off with a team run around the river. We crossed over the bridges of Florence while running next to the river for the two and a half mile journey. What a view that was! Not many people can say they've been able to run in this amazing city, and I am sure lucky i can.

Following the run was a quick breakfast to fuel up for the next few hours of shopping. Once we got inside the city, they team split up into different groups. We had free time to shop, explore, get lunch or climb the tower. My group in particular decided to climb the tower next to the church. The tower consisted of 450 steps that needed to be climbed. With water bottles in hand, we climbed every step in the small, cramped corridors to a view that took our breaths away. We could see for miles. We were able to see all the homes, building and far away mountains in the background. The stairs were worth the view.

After we climbed down, we were able to grab lunch and stroll through the markets before meeting up with the rest of the team. When we finally met up, all you could see were the shopping bags full of souvenirs and gifts for our families back home. We were very exhausted at this point and boarded the bus for another four-hour journey...but this time it was to our final destination of Rome.

The four-hour trip consisted of napping, listening to music and watching film from our last game with Coach Mel and Coach Joy. The hours flew by and we finally got to Rome.

After settling in, we had a chance to grab dinner and explore a little bit. We can't wait to see what Rom has in store for us the next few days!